Computer-aided method for predicting particle uptake by a surface of a moving object

The present invention relates to a computer-aided method for predicting particle uptake by a surface of an object moving in a flow current and more particularly, for predicting water droplet uptake by an aircraft surface.

The authorities require the certification that aircraft meet certain requirements so that they can fly, which requirements ensure their operability in meteorological conditions favoring continuous or intermittent ice formation.

There are many types of problems caused by ice in airplanes. During the landing, the airplane can descend with an intermediate speed from a cold and dry flight altitude to a normal situation on the ground passing through cloudy areas in which moisture or water particles can freeze on the airplane surfaces that are still cold. This can cause a weight increase and a change in the aerodynamic shape especially in the leading edges of wings, tail stabilizers and engine air intake ducts. At an altitude of 17,000 feet and 10,000 feet, the types of ice causing risks are different. In airfoils with ice, the aerodynamic behavior changes dramatically in a low-speed landing configuration: the lift is reduced, the drag increases and they can unexpectedly stall. Due to the ice in the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, the airplane can lose side or longitudinal control. The largest ice particles, which break upon coming into contact with the engine air intake ducts, can damage the blades or sensors of the turbofans.

Due to the above, critical airplane surfaces must be protected from ice by means of suitable systems. These systems increase the airplane weight and must therefore desirably be as efficient as possible.

To deal with the aforementioned problems, the development of analytical models which allow evaluating both the accumulated ice and the effect caused by it on the airplane is considered to be essential. These analytical models also allow a more efficient evaluation of the protection systems against ice during the airplane design stage.

The known analytical models which allow calculating ice formations generally include at least the following modules:

• • A fluid field calculation module for calculating the fluid field around the surface in question.
  • A water uptake calculation module.
  • An ice growth and thermodynamic balance calculation module.

The water uptake module comprises a simulator which must accurately represent the water accumulation process occurring when an aircraft traverses a cloud containing water droplets that are cold enough to become frozen, for the purpose of being able to calculate the uptake parameter of the surface, which parameter will be used in the ice growth and thermodynamic balance calculation module.

The way to obtain the uptake parameter, using Lagrange modeling, consists of carrying out a massive droplet projection, resolving the paths of such droplets and studying the impacts occurring on the outer aircraft surface. In this situation, it is important to establish the initial water droplet distribution in the cloud and the physical properties of such droplets because their paths will depend on such properties, which paths are required to determine the uptake amount (total uptake efficiency), distribution (local uptake efficiency) and extension (limits of the impacted surface).

In the known art, the way to obtain the local uptake efficiency parameter for three-dimensional cases consists of calculating the area ratio between the triangles formed by three water droplets coming out of the projection area and the triangle formed by their impacts on the study surface.

Thus, in reference to FIG. 2, the local uptake efficiency parameter is given by the expression

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